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Last Monday, the Quebec Municipal Commission held a tribunal to revise its June 2013 decision to revoke the tax-exempt status of LaSalle Legion Branch 212.<\/p>\n
If it stands, last year\u2019s decision means that the LaSalle Legion owes the City of Montreal $48,000 in tax revenue for the last two years plus almost $30,000 a year going forward. Montreal sent law intern Aicha\u00a0Ali Taiga to oppose the Legion\u2019s request.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis commission does not have the power to undo the decision it made last year,\u201d said Ali Taiga. \u201cIf the Legion wants to appeal the decision, it has to do so through Quebec Superior Court.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ali Taiga claimed that four previous cases back up her contention; three were written by Commissioner L\u00e9onard\u00a0Serafini, who was the judge hearing Monday\u2019s case.<\/p>\n
During the court case, Legion officials Fred and Bob Jennings and retired policeman member Gilbert Archambault outlined all the ways that LaSalle Legion 212 supports the community plus 316 members, including veterans in the St. Anne hospital. Commemorations to the Battle of the Atlantic and other World War II events, parade participation, dinners, dart leagues and a card club help limit the isolation of veterans and local seniors, they said.<\/p>\n
The Legion also donates funds to various foundations and its facilities are used for no charge by several local community groups, including the Knights of Columbus, the Parent Family Association, the Mana Food Bank and the Hope Foundation.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Serafini explained that none of the items considered in the previous hearing mattered because they were already part of the evidence considered by administrative judge Jacques Lareau last year. In that hearing, Lareau estimated that only 25% of the Legion\u2019s activities qualified for tax-exempt status.<\/p>\n
Since then, the Legion has made new partnerships with several other community groups. The Catholic Charity Association, for example, will be using Legion facilities three full days a week in July and August. A Cancer for Kids charity used the Legion for a full day last week. There are also community luncheons frequently, with more than forty people using the Legion last week. Beginning next fall, the Legion plans to offer hot meals for only $7 every Thursday. A new lending library for books and films is now in operation and the Legion has set up separate reading and movie discussion groups too. A Radio Club now meets at the Legion. Arts and crafts activities and expositions are being organized for the coming months.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been in LaSalle for more than sixty years,\u201d said Archambeault. \u201cIf you close us down, not only will our members suffer, but all the other associations won\u2019t have anywhere to go either.\u201d<\/p>\n
Commissioner Serafini wished the group luck with their activities and said his decision will be rendered in August or September.<\/p>\n
Note: This story also appeared on the front page of the City Edition of the Suburban today.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The LaSalle Branch 212 on Bouvier Street received a property tax bill from the City of Montreal for $47,000 last\u00a0Monday morning.<\/p>\n They gave us a credit for the taxes we already paid,\u201d said Fred Jennings, current president of the branch. \u201cWe paid $3,700 for 2013 and $3,834 for 2014. Why are they sending a bill for our taxes when we\u2019re still waiting for a hearing about our appeal?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The bill dates from June 28, 2013, when Legion 212 had its tax exempt status removed by administrative judge Jacques Lareau from Quebec\u2019s municipal commission. At the end of 2013, the Legion got a letter making the decision retroactive to the beginning of the year, just as it began appealing the initial decision.<\/p>\n No date for the Commission to hear the appeal has been set.<\/p>\n The demand is coming at a difficult time for the organization. For the first time since its inception, it has a mortgage on its building due to a $65,000 roof repair last year.<\/p>\n Legion member Joseph Pugliese brought the issue to the LaSalle borough council meeting Monday evening. Mayor Manon Barbe mentioned that defending its role as a non-profit is a necessary process, but she promised that the borough will assist the Legion in its efforts to prove its continued services to the community.<\/p>\n Jennings says that the Legion lost their initial case between their financial statements did not make donations to charitable organizations such as the Poppy Fund clear. Their appeal documents corrected that deficiency in addition to listing the community organizations that use Legion resources for free.<\/p>\n He\u2019s confident that the organization will be able to overturn the commission judge decision and he\u2019s hoping that the City of Montreal will agree to defer the new property taxes until that process has concluded.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The LaSalle Branch 212 on Bouvier Street is facing the possibility of paying property taxes this year for the first time since 2003.<\/p>\n In a decision rendered by administrative judge Jacques Lareau on June 28, Quebec\u2019s municipal commission revoked the tax exempt status of Legion Branch 212, although there was no date as to when it might take effect. Last week, the Legion got a letter indicating that the decision is retroactive to the beginning of the year.<\/p>\n If we have to pay our taxes, I don\u2019t know how we\u2019ll be able to carry on,\u201d said Legion 212 president Fred Jennings. \u201cWe just replaced our roof, our kitchen had to be renovated and now we have to worry about leaks in our brickwork. If they levy a tax on us now, we\u2019re finished. This could be the nail in the coffin for us.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Legion 212 serves a total of 316 members including many honorary members who are veterans in the St. Anne hospital.<\/p>\n It also donates funds to various foundations, including one researching breast cancer. In addition to three dart leagues and a card club, the facilities are used for no charge by several local community groups, including the Knights of Columbus, the Parent Family Association, the Mana Food Bank and the Hope Foundation. It holds blood clinics on its premises several times a year.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat happened is that on our financial statements, the donations don\u2019t show up because most of them were done through the Poppy Fund and the Woman\u2019s Auxilliary,\u201d said Archambault. \u201cWe also sent them a list of all the organizations that use our facilities for no charge.\u201d<\/p>\n The commission\u2019s original letter informing Legion officials that they lost their tax-exempt status arrived at the branch at the end of July. Most directors were on vacation during the summer, so the Legion approached retired policeman Gilbert Archambault to figure out what they should do.<\/p>\n Archambault called the Commission and was told that a proper donation breakdown, receipts and letters of support should be sent to the Commission by the end of December. They mailed that package two weeks ago.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Judge Lareau crafted a second decision to ensure that his June 28 decision would apply retroactively as of January 1, 2013.<\/p>\nMay 8, 2014:\u00a0LaSalle Legion Branch 212 Receives $47,000 Tax Bill<\/h2>\n
November 6, 2013: Legion Branch 212 May Now Owe Property Taxes<\/h2>\n